[01/04/18 - 07:35 AM]ESPN's Celtics-Cavaliers Telecast Matches Best Regular Season Rating in Nearly Two Years ESPN spins the numbers for Wednesday, January 3.

[via press release from ESPN]

ESPN's Celtics-Cavaliers Telecast Matches Best Regular Season Rating in Nearly Two Years

2.4 Metered Market Rating Up 60 Percent from Last Year

ESPN's telecast of the Boston Celtics victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday delivered a 2.4 metered market rating, according to Nielsen. It matches two Christmas telecasts as the highest-rated NBA regular season game on ESPN in nearly two years.

The 2.4 rating is up 60 percent from a 1.5 rating for last year's comparable game - Cleveland vs. Chicago. Last night's telecast peaked with a 2.7 rating between 9:30-10 p.m. ET. In the Cleveland market, the game delivered a 6.2 rating, the best since a Cleveland-Miami matchup on ESPN drew a 6.4 on October 30, 2015. Wednesday's telecast generated a 4.2 local rating in Boston, which is the second best rating on ESPN this season in the market.

The last time ESPN drew a higher rating for an NBA regular season game was on April 13, 2016, when the Golden State Warriors set the all-time regular season wins record. That telecast drew a 2.7. Wednesday's 2.4 rating is even with the Philadelphia-New York Christmas 2017 rating and the Boston-New York Christmas 2016 rating.